I shoot an iron sighted nagant out to mid range. Fun old m38 carbine. I can only pull 2-2.5 moa after 100 and I did not want to invest in it so it is my only Iron sighted bolt gun. Best 100 dollar rifle out there but I would not want 1k tied up in one (scoped) and they are not easy to scope well.
As far as the 7.62x54r cartridge goes: it is very capable. My psl dragunov is what got me hooked on long range in the first place. I have run it out effectively in good conditions to 1200 meters. Surprisingly effective after a couple thousand practice rounds.

We shot one at 430 yards over Christmas with the iron sights. It was a lot of fun! FWIW the iron sights were not correct for the yardage on the first shots. We had to adjust, but it was surprisingly accurate after we dialed in.

That's great. I bought one for $100 and it was beat up pretty bad after I cleaned all the Cosmo off and could actually see it. I started working on it and was surprised at how accurate it was. I enjoyed shooting it so much I ended up sporterizing it to make it more comfortable to shoot. I'm having a hard time finding bullets and powder right now. I have to say of all my guns I probably enjoy shooting this one the most. Don't really know why. I guess it's just a challenge thing, trying to wring out every drop of accuracy. A few weeks ago when it was nice out was the best group I've ever shot with it so far. I think some of it was luck and I really don't think I could replicate it, but at 750 yards I shot a 4 shot group ( thin barrel heats up too much after 4) that measured just under 2". I'll put up some pics of the finished gun when I get to my computer. The finished gun I have invested about $500 in, that includes the $100 for the gun. My next outing I'm going to try it at 1000 and see what I can get out of her. I did kill a really nice 4-1/2 year old 9 point buck this year with it at 345 yards. Put a hole right through his heart.

That's amazing. You always hear how innacurate they are. Probably the surplus ammo everyone uses. I have been toying with the idea of picking one of the sniper rigs that you see listed from time to time. Might just get one to play with.

Greyfox
I love shooting mine. I take it with me everytime I go shooting. The surplus ammo is junk. My gun shoots like 9 MOA at 100 yards with surplus and .3 MOA with hand loads. The hand loads I shoot are a 174grn Match King .311 over 42.5 Grains of Varget. Id have to look in my load books for my COL but I know its seated about .02 off the lans. I didn't take a picture of the group, but I may at lunch time. I keep the steel dinger in the back of my truck, cuz my truck mostly just goes shooting. Here's some pics of the gun as it sits now.

Things I did to it:
ATI Mossy Oak stock
Timney Trigger
Cut and recrown to 26"
Painted all steel in Ruger Matte Gray Alumahyde II
Rock Solid Scope mount and Bolt Body
I currently have it topped with a Bushnell Elite Tactical 3200 10x40
Have a CTS custom label for fast dialing
-I also made a custom cheek piece out of PVC pipe to give me good eye alignment since the RSI mount sits kinda high

Not any more, they in 2011 they bought a bunch of Styer SSGs in 308, 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua.

they are playing with a couple prototypes that are 7.62x54 but they have never had the sniper quality ammo that was readily available. Look for them to stay with similar cartridges and rifles as western armies on this one.

BTW, Cabelas has remanufactured 91/30 PU snipers in their stores now for $499. Go to the gunboards.com and you can find a couple smiths that specialize in tweaking yours or building you a hand picked on.

I have an original PE side mount sniper rifle that I am going to finish out, hopefully with an original PE scope.

Right now the market is flooded with reproduction 91/30 PU snipers and got to do your research to see if you have an original sniper rifle AND scope. Russian company has started reproducing the PU scopes and flooding the market.

Greyfox
I love shooting mine. I take it with me everytime I go shooting. The surplus ammo is junk. My gun shoots like 9 MOA at 100 yards with surplus and .3 MOA with hand loads. The hand loads I shoot are a 174grn Match King .311 over 42.5 Grains of Varget. Id have to look in my load books for my COL but I know its seated about .02 off the lans. I didn't take a picture of the group, but I may at lunch time. I keep the steel dinger in the back of my truck, cuz my truck mostly just goes shooting. Here's some pics of the gun as it sits now.

Things I did to it:
ATI Mossy Oak stock
Timney Trigger
Cut and recrown to 26"
Painted all steel in Ruger Matte Gray Alumahyde II
Rock Solid Scope mount and Bolt Body
I currently have it topped with a Bushnell Elite Tactical 3200 10x40
Have a CTS custom label for fast dialing
-I also made a custom cheek piece out of PVC pipe to give me good eye alignment since the RSI mount sits kinda high

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That's impressive. Brings new meaning to "turning a sow's ear into a silk purse!"

Thank you. Some of my friends rip on me for putting $400 in a $100 gun. But how many $500 guns will shoot less than 2" at 750 yards? Is what I always ask them. A few weeks ago I used it to shoot against my friends custom built 7mm RUM. 2 shots each at a very small chicken egg at 500 yards. Neither of us hit the egg. But, his closest shot missed by 1". Mine....3/4". He was VERY pessimistic about my 1942 Ruski. Not anymore.

Thank you. Some of my friends rip on me for putting $400 in a $100 gun. But how many $500 guns will shoot less than 2" at 750 yards? Is what I always ask them. A few weeks ago I used it to shoot against my friends custom built 7mm RUM. 2 shots each at a very small chicken egg at 500 yards. Neither of us hit the egg. But, his closest shot missed by 1". Mine....3/4". He was VERY pessimistic about my 1942 Ruski. Not anymore.

Click to expand...

If I thought mine was capable of that I would drop 500 in it in a heart beat and eat my words happily.

If I thought mine was capable of that I would drop 500 in it in a heart beat and eat my words happily.

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Lol. It's got to have a good bore. My bore is dark and not very shiny. Looks pretty rough actually. But it has very strong rifling.

The 308 and 7.62x54R are very similar in powder and bullet weight. I myself believe the 54R creates more pressure because of the tapered case. I'm getting around 2560 fps ( not exact without looking at my logbook) at 42.5 grains of Varget and the max load is 46.5 with a book speed of 2575. So at max load I'd prob be pushing 2700+ with this 26" barrel. Book list 43 grains at 2409 fps

In terms of inherent accuracy, the 7.62x54R and 7.62x53R compare very well to the 308 Win. Every bit as accurate, and when using well built rifles and quality components, they will really shoot well. The Finns actually regard the 7.62x53R as being somewhat superior to the 308 in terms of both ballistic performance and accuracy. It's been used by the Russians for a great many competitions over the years, and has taken its fair share of trophies.

About us

My family and I welcome you. I started LRH back in 2001 to provide a friendly place where like-minded individuals could share information and ideas to help take their long range shooting and hunting to the next level.